April 12 news: Michigan improves vaccination rates, Video chats may help with diabetes, Gottleib seeks to speed up FDA

Kaiser Health News — In ‘stealth move,’ Mich. refines vaccine waivers, improves rate among kids
Without much fanfare — or time for opponents to respond — Michigan state officials abandoned the state’s relatively loose rules for getting an exemption and issued a regulation requiring families to consult personally with local public health departments before obtaining an immunization waiver.

The New York Times — Tackling weight loss and diabetes with video chatsNew high-tech companies, have designed programs aimed at helping people prevent or even reverse their diabetes. Initial results that examined one program’s impact on 241 Type 2 diabetics, published in the journal JMIR Diabetes in March, found that 56 percent had lowered their blood sugar to nondiabetic levels after 10 weeks.

Los Angeles Times — Speed up drug approvals at FDA? It’s already faster than Europe’s drug agencyDr. Scott Gottlieb, President’s Trump’s nominee to head the Food & Drug Administration, has said the FDA displays an “unreasonable hunger for statistical certainty” and a “profound lack of confidence in the ability of doctors to make careful judgments.”

STAT — Harsh immigration rhetoric and policies are a threat to our nation’s health
Restrictive immigration laws that discourage undocumented immigrants from accessing health care have broad implications for health in the US. What starts a treatable illness may then develop into something life-threatening, such as a heart attack or a suicide attempt.